The present invention relates, in general, to fluid quick connectors which couple fluid carrying components.
Snap-fit or quick connectors are employed in a wide range of applications, particularly, for joining fluid carrying conduits in automotive and industrial application. In a typical quick connector with an axially displaceable retainer, the retainer is fixedly mounted within a bore in a housing of a connector component or element. The retainer has a plurality of radially and angularly extending legs which extend inwardly toward the axial center line of the bore in the housing. A tube or fitting to be sealingly mounted in the bore in the housing includes a radially upset portion or flange which abuts an inner peripheral surface of the retainer legs. Seal and spacer members as well as a bearing or top hat are typically mounted in the bore ahead of the retainer to form a seal between the housing and the fitting when the fitting is lockingly engaged with the retainer legs.
Radially displaceable retainers in which the retainer is radially displaceable through aligned bores or apertures formed transversely to the main through bore in the housing are also known. The radially displaceable retainer is typically provided with a pair of depending legs which are sized and positioned to slip behind the radially upset portion or flange on the fitting only when the fitting or conduit is fully seated in the bore in the connector. This ensures a positive locking engagement of the conduit with the connector as well as providing an indication that the conduit is fully seated since the radially displaceable retainer can be fully inserted into the connector only when the conduit has been fully inserted into the bore in the connector.
Regardless of the type of retainer, the housing of a fluid connector typically includes an elongated stem having one or more annular barbs spaced from a first end. The barbs provide secure engagement with a hose or conduit which is forced over the barbs to connect the housing with one end of the conduit.
Due to the secure engagement between the conduit and the housing, the open end of the axial through bore in the connector portion of a fluid connector designed with an axially displaceable retainer or the transverse bores in a connector designed to receive a radially displaceable retainer are fixed in one circumferential position depending upon the position of the tubing and the connector when the conduit and the connector are joined together. In certain applications, this could limit accessibility to and make it difficult to insert the retainer into the connector, particularly in the case of a radial retainer. Interference with surrounding components frequently makes access to the quick connector for both locking or unlocking operations difficult, if not impossible.
To address these problems, two part fluid quick connectors which are easily rotatable over 360° to facilitate insertion or removal of the retainer into or out of the quick connector have been devised. In such quick connectors, the quick connector housing, typically of one piece construction, is replaced with two engagable portions, one attachable to or mountable on a fluid component, such as a tube or conduit, and the other receiving a second conduit or endform as well as receiving the retainer for locking the first component and the endform together.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a rotatable two piece quick connector which provides the known advantages of two part rotatable quick connectors with two part fluid quick connector housings.